Popular amusement device with switchable eddy-current brake

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a popular amusement device with a personal transportation device, moving along a guide track arrangement ( 14 ), and eddy-current braking device ( 10, 70 ), comprising a magnet arrangement ( 10 ) and an induction body ( 70 ), for the selective braking of the personal transportation device, with one of the pieces of either the magnet arrangement ( 10 ) or the induction body ( 70 ) being provided on a guide track arrangement ( 14 ) and the other piece ( 10  or  70 ) being connected to the personal transportation device. The magnet arrangement ( 10 ) comprises at least two partial magnet arrangements ( 18, 20 ) each with at least one permanent magnet ( 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86 ), said partial magnet arrangements ( 18, 20 ) are, at least in the operating position thereof, arranged essentially orthogonal to the braking area guide track direction (B), at a separation (a) from each other, with the induction body ( 70 ) being arranged between the partial magnet arrangements ( 18, 20 ) during the braking. According to the invention, the partial magnet arrangements ( 18, 20 ) may be displaced relative to each other.

[0001] The present invention relates to a popular amusement devicehaving a personal transportation device moving along a guide trackarrangement and an eddy-current braking device comprising a magnetarrangement and an induction body for selective braking of the personaltransportation device.

[0002] To form a braking zone on the guide track arrangement, one of theparts, i.e., either the magnet arrangement or the induction body, isprovided on the guide track arrangement while the other part isconnected to the personal transportation device, and the magnetarrangement has at least two partial magnet arrangements, each having atleast one permanent magnet, said partial magnet arrangements beingarranged at a distance from one another and essentially perpendicular tothe direction of the braking zone guide track in at least one of theiroperating positions, with the induction body being arranged between thepartial magnet arrangements during braking.

[0003] Such a popular amusement device is disclosed in European Patent 0820 333 B1. Use of permanent magnets in the magnet arrangement isdesirable for safety reasons because in contrast with electromagnets,the magnetic field emanating from permanent magnets does not depend on apower supply and thus the eddy-current braking device continues tosupply the desired braking force even in the event of a power failure.However, the variability, i.e., controllability, of the braking force ofan eddy-current brake with permanent magnets is still a problem.

[0004] In the publication cited above, it is proposed that the entiremagnet arrangement and the induction body be moved away from and towardone another in order to diminish or interrupt the braking force actingbetween the magnet arrangement and the induction body in the case of aneddy-current brake on a popular amusement device. To do so, the entiremagnet arrangement and/or the induction body is situated movably on thedevice supporting it and is provided with an actuator drive.

[0005] One disadvantage of this method of varying a braking force of aneddy-current braking device is that the braking force acting between themagnet arrangement and the induction body can be adjusted onlyapproximately and it can be used practically only between apredetermined braking position with a relatively high braking force anda zero braking force position with and without a negligible brakingforce.

[0006] Furthermore, when the magnet arrangement is moved away from theinduction body to reduce the coverage between these two parts,relatively large masses are moved, which results in relatively longswitching times, and shortening these times in turn requires efficientand expensive actuator drives.

[0007] The object of the present invention is thus to make available apopular amusement device of the type defined in the preamble in whichthe braking force acting between the magnet arrangement and theinduction body is adjustable as rapidly and accurately as possible andwith the lowest possible effort. This object is achieved by a popularamusement device of the generic type in which the partial magnetarrangements are movable in relation to one another.

[0008] The term “popular amusement device” refers here to transportationbusinesses in the broadest sense such as those associated with amusementparks, seasonal fairs and popular festivals. These include, for example,drop towers, the tunnel of horrors, roller coasters, etc.

[0009] The braking zone is an area of the guide track arrangement,preferably a continuous area, in which an eddy-current-based brakingforce can act between the magnet arrangement and the induction body. Thebraking zone includes at least the longitudinal section of the guidetrack in which one of the parts of the magnet arrangement or theinduction body is arranged on it. The direction of the braking zoneguide track is accordingly the direction of the path of the guide trackarrangement in the braking zone.

[0010] Due to the mobility of the partial magnet arrangements inrelation to one another with the resulting change in orientation of themagnetic field vectors, penetration of the induction body by themagnetic field emanating from the partial magnet arrangements and thusthe extent of eddy-currents induced in the induction body, said eddycurrents being proportional to the effective braking force, can beadjusted rapidly and accurately. In contrast with the state of the art,the total mass of the magnet arrangement is no longer moved to changethe braking force but instead only a portion of it is moved.

[0011] A concrete possibility for influencing the creation of eddycurrents in the induction body consists of varying the orthogonaldistance from the direction of the braking zone guide track between thepartial magnet arrangements through their movement in relation to oneanother. This may be accomplished, for example, by the fact that thepartial magnet arrangements are pivotable in relation to one anotherabout an axis that is essentially parallel to the direction of thebraking zone guide track and/or they are linearly displaceable inrelation to one another essentially orthogonally to the direction of thebraking zone guide track. However, depending on the embodiment, aresidual braking force may remain, although it is unwanted under somecircumstances due to stray magnetic fields, and it may still be ineffect between the magnet arrangement and the induction body.

[0012] To avoid this residual braking force and to increase the range ofvariability of the braking force, the popular amusement device ispreferably designed so that the partial magnet arrangements can bedisplaced linearly in relation to one another with a displacementcomponent that points essentially in the direction of the braking zoneguide track. The distance between the partial magnet arrangementsremains essentially unchanged as a result, with the only thing thatchanges being the relative position of the poles of the at least onepermanent magnet of each of two partial magnet arrangements situatedessentially opposite one another. This type of change in braking forcerequires only a short contact travel to change the braking force.

[0013] “Essentially in opposition” means that the at least two partialmagnet arrangements at least partially overlap in a projection of themagnet arrangement in the distance direction of the parallel planes whenthe magnet arrangements are each in one of two parallel planes.

[0014] It is fundamentally conceivable for each partial magnetarrangement to have only one permanent magnet. In one case, startingfrom an opposition of one pole of the permanent magnet of one partialmagnet arrangement and a pole of a different polarity of the permanentmagnet arrangement of the other partial magnet arrangement, the brakingforce could be reduced starting from a maximum braking force by means ofa linear displacement of the partial magnet arrangements in relation toone another. In another case, starting from an opposition of poles ofthe same polarity, the resulting braking force could be increased from aminimal braking force by a linear displacement of the partial magnetarrangements in relation to one another.

[0015] The resultant braking force may be increased by each partialmagnet arrangement having a plurality of permanent magnets. Protectionagainst power outages as mentioned previously can be achieved in thebest possible way here by the fact that the magnet arrangement hasexclusively permanent magnets as the magnets. In this case, even ifthere is a sudden total power outage, the personal transportation devicecan always be decelerated with maximum braking force.

[0016] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of an inventive popularamusement device, each partial magnet arrangement has a plurality ofpermanent magnets following one another in the direction of the brakingzone guide track. This allows implementation of even longer brakingzones in which a relatively high braking force may be in effect, whichin turn permits a high allowed velocity of the personal transportationdevice prior to the respective braking zone, which thus increases theattractiveness of the popular amusement device. The braking force actingin the braking zone may be further increased by arranging a plurality ofpermanent magnets of each partial magnet arrangement with alternatingpolarities. This means that poles of different polarities follow oneanother in the direction of the braking zone guide track on an area of apartial magnet arrangement pointing to the other partial magnetarrangement.

[0017] An increased number of pole changes means that a higher maximumbraking force can be achieved and also improves the variability of adesired braking force acting between the magnet arrangement and theinduction body. By displacement of the partial magnet arrangements inrelation to one another with a displacement component pointingessentially in the direction of the braking zone guide track, anybraking force can be established between a maximum braking force and avirtually negligible minimal braking force. In the preferred embodimentdiscussed here, the direction of the braking zone guide track is thesame as the direction of extent of the partial magnet arrangement. Therequired maximum displacement distance (contact travel) amounts to onepole pitch length.

[0018] The maximum braking force is achieved when as many permanentmagnet poles as possible of the one partial magnet arrangement ofpermanent magnet poles of different polarities are arranged oppositeanother partial magnet arrangement. Magnetic field penetration of theinduction body is at a maximum in this position during braking. Theminimum braking force is obtained by analogy when as many permanentmagnet poles as possible of the one partial magnet arrangement arearranged opposite permanent magnet poles of the same polarity of anotherpartial magnet arrangement, which leads to minimum magnetic fieldpenetration of the induction body during braking.

[0019] The phrase “as many as possible” takes into account the fact thateven with an optimum design of the partial magnet arrangements in one ofthe two positions, namely maximum braking force position or minimumbraking force position, at least one permanent magnet pole lying at onelongitudinal end of a partial magnet arrangement in a direction of thebraking zone guide track is not opposite any permanent magnet pole ofanother partial magnet arrangement.

[0020] A flexible variability of the braking force generated by theeddy-current braking device can be achieved by designing the popularamusement device so that the partial magnet arrangements aredisplaceable between two end positions in relation to one another, oneend position of which is closer at a maximum braking force position andpossibly coincides with it, and the other end position of which iscloser at the minimum braking force position and optionally coincideswith it.

[0021] Depending on the application, magnet arrangements and inductionbodies may be distributed in any desired manner on a guide trackarrangement and personal transportation device, As a rule, however, themagnet arrangement will have a greater mass than the induction body, andwith many popular amusement devices, there is an emphasis on achievingthe greatest possible acceleration of the passengers, so it isadvantageous if the magnet arrangement is provided on the guide trackarrangement and the induction body is provided on the personaltransportation device. This distribution of the parts of theeddy-current braking device also has the advantage that a linear motormay be used to drive the personal transportation device, and theinduction body may form part of the linear motor. Thus at least parts ofthe drive and the brake may be used jointly, which thus reduces thetotal number of parts required.

[0022] The safety of passengers using the particular deviceunderstandably plays a major role in public entertainment devices. Thefact that the inventive eddy-current braking device is not sensitive topower failures has already been emphasized repeatedly. Although themagnetic field of the permanent magnets used cannot fail unforeseeablyin the case of the public amusement device according to the presentinvention, it is, however, possible for an actuator drive that is usedto generate the relative motion between the partial magnet arrangementsto fail. Such an actuator drive may be, for example, a hydraulically orpneumatically operated piston-cylinder unit or an electric motor.However, in the event of failure of the actuator drive, if the magnetarrangement is not in the maximum braking force position, a restoringforce of the partial magnet arrangement acting in the direction of aposition of higher braking force, said restoring force caused by themagnetic field of the magnet arrangement, can be utilized. This is dueto the fact that the minimum braking force position described above is aposition of labile equilibrium, whereas the maximum braking forceposition described above is a position of stable equilibrium of thepartial magnet arrangements in relation to one another.

[0023] This safety feature of the inventive popular amusement devicescan be further improved by the fact that of the at least two partialmagnet arrangements, a first is rigidly connected to the devicesupporting it and a second is connected to the device supporting it andis essentially orthogonally to the direction of the braking zone guidetrack at a distance from the first arrangement, so that it is linearlydisplaceable with a displacement component pointing essentially in thedirection of the braking zone guide track, with a displacement limitingdevice cooperating with the second partial magnet arrangement,preventing displacement of the second partial magnet arrangement in arelative direction of movement of the induction body in relation to themagnet arrangement beyond the end position closer to the maximum brakingforce position and from this end position outward against the directionof relative movement. In this case, not only is there a restoring forceinduced by the magnet arrangement itself acting in the direction ofpositions of greater braking force between the partial magnetarrangements but also there is a braking response force acting on thepartial magnet arrangements in braking as an additional restoring forcecomponent.

[0024] The relative direction of motion provided is the direction inwhich the induction body passes through the braking zone of the guidetrack arrangement in relation to the magnet arrangement. Thedisplacement limiting device defines a position having a relatively highbraking force, if desired having the maximum braking force, into whichthe restoring force restores the second partial magnet arrangement andin which it then remains. This displacement limiting device may beformed by a mechanical stop in a simple manner.

[0025] It is essentially possible for the at least two partial magnetarrangements to be arranged so that they are linearly displaceable inrelation to one another with a displacement component essentially in thedirection of the braking zone guide track; this is done by providinglinear guides on one or both partial magnet arrangements. An especiallysimple and inexpensive design option for implementing said lineardisplaceability of the at least two partial magnet arrangements inrelation to one another is to connect at least one of the at least twopartial magnet arrangements to another of the at least two partialmagnet arrangements or to a framework via a parallelogram crankmechanism. With this type of structural design of the magnet arrangementhaving its own inventive value, the partial magnet arrangement coupledto the parallelogram crank mechanism has a displacement componentdirected orthogonally to the displacement component pointing in thedirection of the braking zone guide track in the case of a relativemovement with respect to the other partial magnet arrangement. Onlyrotary bearings such as friction bearing bushes or roller bearings areneeded on the displaceable partial magnet arrangement.

[0026] The present invention is described in greater detail below on thebasis of the accompanying drawing, which shows:

[0027]FIG. 1 a magnet arrangement of an eddy-current braking device of apopular amusement device according to this invention in a maximumbraking force position (solid line) and in a minimum braking forceposition (dashed line),

[0028]FIG. 2 a view in the direction of the arrow 11 in FIG. 1 of themagnet arrangement shown in FIG. 1 in the maximum braking force positionwith the induction body,

[0029]FIG. 3 a sectional view of the magnet arrangement shown in FIG. 1with an induction body in the maximum braking force position along lineIII-III in FIG. 1 and

[0030]FIG. 4 a view of the magnet arrangement shown in FIG. 1, wherethis view corresponds to that in FIG. 2, showing the induction body inthe minimum braking force position.

[0031]FIG. 1 shows a side view of a magnet arrangement 10 provided on aroller coaster track. The magnet arrangement 10 is connected to a frame12 which also carries the guide track arrangement of the roller coastertrack. The guide track arrangement is formed by a rail system 14, whichis indicated only schematically in FIG. 1. Cars of roller coaster trains(not shown) travel along this rail system 14 in the direction of arrowV.

[0032] Due to the magnet arrangement 10, a braking zone 16 is formed onthe rail system 14, extending slightly beyond both longitudinal ends ofthe magnet arrangement 10, because of the scattering field that emanatesfrom the magnet arrangement 10. The effective range of the braking zone16 is indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 1. Accordingly, thedirection of the braking zone guide track is the direction of extent ofthe rail system 14 within the braking zone 16. This is indicated withthe double arrow B in FIG. 1.

[0033] The magnet arrangement 10 includes two partial magnetarrangements designed as magnetic strips 18 and 20. FIG. 1 shows onlythe magnetic strip 18, but the magnetic strip 20 is covered by it.

[0034] Although the magnetic strip 20 is rigidly connected by themagnetic strip holder 22 to the frame 12 of the guide track arrangement,the magnetic strip 18 is displaceable in relation to the magnetic strip20 by a parallelogram crank mechanism 20 with at least one displacementcomponent pointing essentially in the direction B of the braking zoneguide track. More precisely, the magnetic strip 18 is displaceable withrespect to the magnetic strip 20 in a plane orthogonal to the distancedirection between the magnetic strips 18 and 20. The term “distancedirection” is understood to refer to the distance between two parallelplanes in which the magnetic strips 18 and 20, respectively, aresituated. The displacement plane of the magnetic strip 18 as well as theplanes in which the magnetic strips 18 and 20 are situated are parallelto the plane of the drawing in FIG. 1.

[0035] The parallelogram crank mechanism is formed by control arms 26and 28, and on each of the longitudinal ends of said control arms, aring bushing 30 is formed on the frame end and a ring bushing 32 isformed on the magnetic strip end. The ring bushing 30 on the frame endsurrounds a friction bearing (not shown in FIG. 1) which in turnsurrounds a bolt 34 situated on the magnetic strip holder 22 (see alsoFIG. 3). Control arms 26 and 28 can rotate about this bolt 34.

[0036] By analogy, the ring bushings 32 on the magnetic strip end of thecontrol arms 26 and 28 surround friction bearings (not shown in FIG. 1)which in turn surround bolts 36 on the magnetic strips 18 and 20. Thering bushings 30 and 32 are secured on the bolts 34 and 36 by washers 38and nuts 40, which are screwed onto the thread 42 formed on the bolts.

[0037] By means of the parallelogram crank mechanism 24, the magneticstrip 18 can be displaced in parallel in the displacement planedescribed above in a range defined by the length of the control arms 26and 28 without any change in its orientation in the direction B of thebraking zone guide track. FIG. 1 shows the maximum braking forceposition of the magnetic strip with a solid line and the minimum brakingforce position of the magnetic strip 18 with a dotted line. The dottedline in FIG. 1 is labeled with the same reference notation with an addedprime (′).

[0038] A projection 44 pointing in the direction of movement V of theroller coaster train is designed on the ring bushing 32 on the magneticstrip end of the control arm 36, said projection being surrounded by afork-like end part 36 of a hydraulically or preferably pneumaticallyactuated piston-cylinder unit. The end part 46 is attached to theprojection 44 by a screw 48 and a nut 50 so that it has one swivelingdegree of freedom in the direction of the double arrow S with respect tothe projection 44. By displacement of the piston rod of the pistoncylinder unit, the magnet strip 18 can be moved starting from themaximum braking force position shown with a solid line in FIG. 1 andmoved against the direction of travel V of the roller coaster train intoany desired position of a lower braking force. The magnetic strip 18 mayof course be moved out of any position of a lower braking force into aposition of a higher braking force by tightening the piston rod and/orto the position of maximum braking force.

[0039] A stop surface 52 is formed on the control arm 26 on its endwhich points in the direction of travel V; in the case depicted herethis stop surface comes to rest against a stop 54 that is fixedlyattached to the frame in the maximum braking force position. The stopfixedly mounted on the frame is formed by a damping element holder 56that is fixedly connected to the frame 12 of the guide track arrangementvia a framework 58 and screws 60. To absorb the impact momentum of thecontrol arm 26 on the stop 54 that is fixedly mounted on the frame, adamping element 62 is situated on the damping element holder 56 pointingtoward the control arm 26.

[0040] From the maximum braking force position according to FIGS. 1 and2, the magnetic strip 18 may thus be displaced selectively into theminimum braking force position according to FIG. 4 (shown with a dottedline in FIG. 1) by putting the pneumatic piston cylinder unit underpressure or optionally it may also be displaced into the desiredintermediate positions for precision metering of the braking force. Areverse movement into the maximum braking force position is achieved bya corresponding reduction in the pneumatic pressure in thepiston-cylinder unit, optionally by opening a corresponding vent valve.The magnetic forces acting between the two magnetic strips 18 and 20acts as the restoring force; these magnetic forces act in the directionof travel V until the north and south poles of the individual magnets ofthe two magnetic strips 18 and 20 are each opposite poles of theopposite polarity of the other strip (=maximum braking force positionaccording to FIGS. 1 and 2).

[0041] As an additional safety measure, two parallel-connected ventvalves may also be connected to the piston-cylinder unit in a manner notshown here, so that in the event of failure of one of the two valves,the other valve will in any case ensure restoration back to the maximumbraking force position. It is thus sufficient for the piston-cylinderunit to be designed to be only single acting. In cases where it isnecessary not only to switch between zero braking force and maximumbraking force, but where precision braking force control and/or brakingforce regulation is also important, a double-acting piston-cylinder unitmay also be used, preferably with hydraulic triggering.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic strip 18 can be moved betweenthe two positions, i.e., the maximum braking force position and theminimum braking force position, as indicated by a double arrow A betweenthe corresponding angular positions 27 a and 27 b and 29 a and 29 b of alongitudinal axis 27 of the control arm 26 and/or a longitudinal axis 29of the control arm 28. In the angular positions 27 a and 29 a, thelongitudinal axis is essentially orthogonal to the direction of travel V(and to the direction B of the braking zone guide track).

[0043] In deviation from this, however, another possible arrangement isone where the maximum braking force position is in mirror symmetry (withrespect to a plane perpendicular to the direction of travel V) to theminimum braking force position. The corresponding angle positions 27 cand 29 c of the longitudinal axis 27 and 29, respectively, in themaximum braking force position are indicated with a dash-dot-dot line inFIG. 1. The resulting swivel angle range, which is twice as large, isrepresented by a double arrow A′. Similarly, the stationary magneticstrip 20 is shifted to the left in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 so that in themaximum braking force position the desired precise opposition ofmagnetic poles of different polarities is obtained.

[0044] The structural design of the magnet arrangement 10 in combinationwith the stop 54 which is fixedly mounted on the frame and theadjustment of the magnetic strip 18 opposite the direction of travel Vof the roller coaster train toward diminishing effective braking forcesconstitutes an important safety feature of this preferred embodiment.Braking response forces acting on the magnetic strip 18 are introduceddirectly into the stop 54 which is mounted fixedly on the frame in themaximum braking force position. If the magnetic strip 18 is still in itsmaximum braking force position in the braking operation, regardless ofthe reason, then the braking response force supports the magneticrestoration to the stable end position, said restoration acting betweenthe magnetic strips 18 and 20.

[0045] In other words, if the induction body 70 travels between the twomagnetic strips 18 and 20 in the direction of travel V, then a brakingforce which acts against the direction of travel V acts on the inductionbody. Accordingly, a braking reaction force which acts in the directionof travel V, i.e., opposite the braking force which acts on theinduction body, is acting on each of the magnetic strips. Under somecircumstances, this may reset the magnetic strips until striking thestop 54 which is fixedly mounted on the frame, where it reaches themaximum braking force position and remains in this position for theduration of the braking period.

[0046]FIG. 2 shows a view of the magnet arrangement shown in FIG. 1 fromthe standpoint of the arrow 11 in FIG. 1. In contrast to FIG. 1, thisshows an induction body 70 between the magnetic strips 18 and 20,fixedly connected to the car (not shown) that is traveling on the railsystem 14. The stop 54 mounted fixedly on the frame is not shown in FIG.2 for the sake of simplicity. FIG. 2 shows the maximum braking forceposition of the magnet arrangement 10.

[0047] As FIG. 2 shows, the magnetic strips 18 and 20 are arrangedessentially parallel to one another with a distance a, which isessentially orthogonal to the direction B of the braking zone guidetrack.

[0048] In the example shown here, the magnetic strip 18 is in the plane19 and the magnetic strip 20 is in the plane 21 which is parallel to theplane 19. The two planes 19 and 21 are orthogonal to the plane of thedrawing in FIG. 2. The distance a is greater than the width of theinduction body 70 in the distance direction to leave an air gap betweenthe magnetic strips 18 and 20 and the induction body 70 in braking. Thisair gap is necessary for preventing material friction between theinduction body and a magnetic strip 18 or 20, among other things. Inaddition, transverse movements of the induction body 70 may occur in thebraking of the roller coaster train. Therefore, the air gap should belarge enough so that this transverse movement is possible withoutcontacting a magnetic strip.

[0049] The magnetic strips 18 and 20 are essentially identical indesign. In the following discussion, only the magnetic strip will bedescribed, but this description likewise applies to the magnetic strip20.

[0050] The magnetic strip 18 consists of a magnet holder 72 which ispreferably made of a ferromagnetic material to produce a magneticreturn. For example, three permanent magnets 74, 76 and 78 are attachedto the surface 72 a which faces toward the other magnetic strip, namelymagnetic strip 20 in this case. If higher braking forces are desired, agreater number of permanent magnets may also be used.

[0051] In the case of a braking device for a roller coaster train, ingeneral five to ten magnets are used per magnetic strip. The permanentmagnets are attached to the respective magnet holder by casting themwith synthetic resin. The permanent magnets are secured in place beforecasting by using securing pins 81 which are inserted into correspondingboreholes in the respective magnet holder 72 and are in contact with theoutside circumference of the permanent magnets.

[0052] The permanent magnets 74, 76 and 78 are attached to the magnetholder 72 in such a way that one pole of each permanent magnet pointstoward the magnet holder 72 and the other pole points away from themagnet holder 72 toward the other magnetic strip. To increase thebraking force that can be achieved by the magnet arrangement 10 and theinduction body 70, the permanent magnets 74, 76 and 78 of the magneticstrip 18 are arranged with alternating polarities in the direction B ofthe braking zone guide track, i.e., any permanent magnet of the magneticstrip 18 is arranged so that it is rotated by 180° about an axisoriented in the direction B of the braking zone guide track with respectto a permanent magnet adjacent thereto in the direction of the brakingzone guide track.

[0053] The permanent magnets 82, 84 and 86 of the magnet holder 72 ofthe magnetic strip 20 are arranged essentially in the same way as thepermanent magnets 74, 76 and 78 but with the opposite polarity on themagnet holder 72 of the magnetic strip 20. In the maximum braking forceposition of the magnet arrangement 10 shown in FIG. 2, a north pole ofthe permanent magnet 82 of the magnetic strip 20 is opposite a southpole of the permanent magnet 74 of the magnetic strip 18. Acorresponding arrangement also applies to the permanent magnet 76 to 84and 78 to 86.

[0054] It should be pointed out here that the magnetic strips 18 and 20in this exemplary embodiment are shown with their length shortened. Themagnetic strips may in reality be designed to be longer and may havemore than three permanent magnets. Likewise more than two control armsmay also be provided.

[0055]FIG. 3 shows a sectional view along line III-III in FIG. 1. Thisshows mainly the design of the control arm 28.

[0056] Between the inside circumferential wall of the ring bushing 30 onthe frame end and the bolt 34, a sliding bushing 90 is situated as thesliding bearing, surrounding the bolt 34. The sliding bushing 90 is madeof a material which forms a favorable friction pairing with the bolt 34.For example, the sliding bushing 90 may be made of bronze when the bolt34 is a steel bolt. The bolt 34 may be welded to the magnetic stripholder 22.

[0057] The rotary mounting on the bolt 36 with the ring bushing 32 onthe magnetic strip end is designed in the same way as the rotary bearingon the bolt 34. The sliding bushing 92, which is also used there, shouldbe selected from the standpoint of a good friction pairing with the bolt36. The bolt 36 is attached to the magnet holder 72 by a flange section36 a, e.g., by screwing and/or gluing.

[0058] For the sake of thoroughness, FIG. 4 shows a view of the magnetarrangement 10 in the direction of arrow 11 from FIG. 1 (this viewcorresponding to that in FIG. 2) in its minimum braking force position.

[0059] In the position illustrated in FIG. 4, the permanent magnet 80 ofthe magnetic strip 20 is opposite the permanent magnet 74 of themagnetic strip 18 and another permanent magnet pairing is formed frommagnets 76 and 78. Poles of the same polarity are now opposite oneanother so that the induction body that moves between the magneticstrips 18 and 20 in the direction of travel V in braking is hardlypenetrated by a magnetic field emanating from the magnetic strips 18 and20. A stray field may emanate from the magnets 78 and 82 on onelongitudinal end of the magnetic strips 18 and 20, penetrating throughthe induction body 70 and thus ensuring a slight braking. This residualbraking force occurs because no pole of the same polarity of anothermagnet is opposite said magnet.

1. Popular amusement device having a personal transportation devicemovable along a guide track arrangement (14) and an eddy-current brakingdevice (10, 70) comprising a magnet arrangement (10) and an inductionbody (70) for selective braking of the personal transportation device,whereby to form a braking zone (16) on the guide track arrangement (14),one of the parts (70) of either the magnet arrangement (10) or theinduction body (70) is provided on the guide track arrangement while theother part (10 or 70) is connected to the personal transportationdevice, and whereby the magnet arrangement (10) has at least two partialmagnet arrangements (18, 20), each having at least one permanent magnet(74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86), said partial magnet arrangements (18, 20)being arranged at a distance (a) from one another and at leastessentially orthogonally to the direction (B) of the braking zone guidetrack in one of the operating positions of said partial magnetarrangements, with the induction body (70) being arranged between thepartial magnet arrangements (18, 20) during braking, whereby the partialmagnet arrangements (18, 20) are linearly displaceable in relationbetween two end positions with a displacement component which pointsessentially in the direction (B) of the braking zone guide track, theone end position that is closer at a maximum braking force position andoptionally possibly coincides with it and the other end position that iscloser at the minimum braking force position and optionally coincideswith it characterized in that of the at least two partial magnetarrangements (18, 20), a first partial magnet arrangement (20) isrigidly connected to the device (12) supporting it, and a second partialmagnet arrangement (18), with a distance (a) from the first partialmagnet arrangement, is connected to the device (12) supporting it and isessentially orthogonal to the direction (B) of the braking zone guidetrack such that said second partial magnet arrangement is linearlydisplaceable with a displacement component pointing essentially in thedirection (B) of the braking zone guide track, with a displacementlimiting device (54) cooperating with the second partial magnetarrangement (18), preventing displacement of the second partial magnetarrangement (18) in a relative direction of movement (V) of theinduction body (70) in relation to the magnet arrangement (10) beyondthe end position closer to the maximum braking force position, andallowing displacement out of this end position in the direction oppositethe relative motion direction (V) provided.
 2. Popular amusement deviceaccording to claim 1, characterized in that each partial magnetarrangement (18, 20) has a plurality of permanent magnets (74, 76, 78,82, 84, 86).
 3. Popular amusement device according to claim 1,characterized in that the magnet arrangement (10) has only permanentmagnets (74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86) as magnets (74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86). 4.Popular amusement device according to claim 2, characterized in that thepermanent magnets (74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86) of each partial magnetarrangement (18, 20) follow one another in the direction (B) of thebraking zone guide track, preferably with an alternating polarity. 5.Popular amusement device according to claim 1, characterized in that themagnet arrangement (10) is provided on the guide track arrangement (14)and the induction body (70) is provided on the personal transportationdevice.
 6. Popular amusement device according to claim 5, characterizedin that it also includes a linear motor for driving the personaltransportation device, with the induction body (70) forming part of thelinear motor.
 7. Popular amusement device according to claim 1,characterized in that the displacement limiting device (54) is formed bya mechanical stop (54).
 8. Magnet arrangement of an eddy-current brakingdevice having at least two partial magnet arrangements (18, 20), a firstone of which is rigidly connected to a frame (12) and a second one ofwhich (18) is connected to the frame (12) at a distance (a) from thefirst partial magnet arrangement (20) so that it is displaceable betweentwo end positions in relation to the first partial magnet arrangement(20) with a displacement component that is essentially orthogonal to thedistance (a), one end position being closer at a maximum braking forceposition and optionally coinciding with it and the other end positionbeing closer at the minimum braking force position and optionallycoinciding with it, characterized in that a displacement limiting device(54) cooperates with the second partial magnet arrangement (18) andprevents displacement of the second partial magnet arrangement (18) inrelation to the first partial magnet arrangement (20) beyond the endposition closer to the maximum braking force position and permitsdisplacement out of this end position in the opposite direction. 9.Magnet arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that thedisplacement limiting device (54) is formed by a mechanical stop (54).10. Magnet arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that thesecond partial magnet arrangement (18) of the at least two partialmagnet arrangements (18, 20) is connected to the frame (12) by aparallelogram crank mechanism (24).
 11. Magnet arrangement according toclaim 8, characterized in that it has only permanent magnets (74, 76,78, 82, 84, 86) as magnets (74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86).
 12. Magnetarrangement according to claim 11, characterized in that the permanentmagnets (74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86) of each partial magnet arrangement (18,20) are arranged so that they follow one another in a directionessentially orthogonal to the distance (a), preferably with analternating polarity.
 13. Magnet arrangement of an eddy-current brakingdevice, having at least two partial magnet arrangements (18, 20)arranged at a distance (a) from one another and are movable in relationto one another, characterized in that at least one partial magnetarrangement (18) of the at least two partial magnet arrangements (18,20) is connected to another of the at least two partial magnetarrangements (20) or to a frame (12) by a parallelogram crank mechanism(24).